Someone coughed delicately behind Brea.
“Sorry, Sophie!” she giggled.
“Sure, rub your relationship in the face of your single friend,” she said, wheeling a cooler into my condo behind her. She looked me up and down critically. “Though I see why you’re bouncing around at all hours of the night with him.”
“It’s not all hours!” Brea protested. “I’m out with Mark during respectable times.”
“Do you have a brother?” Sophie asked me. “Preferably one who likes cake?”
“Yes,” I said, leading the wedding planners into the dining room, “but he’s in a relationship, unfortunately.”
“As long as he uses us for his upcoming wedding, we’ll call it even,” Sophie said cheerfully.
“So where do you want me to put this?” I asked, reaching for the cooler.
“No!” Brea yelled.
I jerked my hand away.
“We have to make it look pretty,” she insisted as she and Sophie laid out a white tablecloth and spread it diagonally on the center of the table.
On one end, Brea laid out small, chilled bottles of sparkling water, along with a stack of plates, a bouquet of puffy white flowers in a short glass vase, and a set of small silver dessert forks. Then she and Sophie carefully laid out a row of small cakes with little handwritten cards describing what flavors they were.
“Orange Creamsicle, key lime dream, strawberry shortcake,” Grant read out. “I didn’t know wedding cakes came in flavors.”
“Did someone say wedding cake?” Liz called out. The dogs raced to her, and Wes’s large American Akita, Kal, bounded in.
Unlike Gus and Beowulf, Kal was well trained. “Sit,” I ordered, and he skidded to a halt a few feet before the table.
“Wes is out at a meeting,” Liz said. “He’s trying to pack them all in before the baby comes.”
“We’ll make sure he has a cake flavor he likes,” Brea assured her.
When Carter arrived with Kate and Allie, Brea and Sophie started serving up the slices of cake.
“This is the bananas foster flavor,” Sophie said, handing Liz a piece. “I recommend that it be the bottom tier, as it’s a bit denser.” She pointed to the drawing of an elaborate tiered cake.
“How is that going to stay up?” I asked.
“I 3D print scaffolding,” Sophie explained with a laugh.
“Bet you didn’t know weddings could be so scientific,” Brea teased, nudging me.
“I really want to get a 3D food printer,” Sophie added. “Then I could make really cool shapes out of sugar.”
“I think you just blew his mind,” Brea joked as I contemplated such a machine.
“Do you think Wes would like a 3D-printed cake?” Liz asked me.
“Sure, if they can make it.”
“I just need a special 3D printer that prints sugar. We could make a whole lattice structure to wrap over the cake like a space-age skyscraper,” Sophie suggested, sketching it out.
“Oh, he’d love that!” Liz said, clapping her hands. “He’s going to be so surprised. He’s already been talking about how he wants to 3D print toys and decorations for the baby.”
Liz looked at me. Then Brea looked at me, and then Sophie turned her gaze on me as well.
“What? I’m on board.”
